Holiday Office Closure

Citizens will be closed Monday, May 27, for Memorial Day. To report a loss, submit a claim via myPolicy 24/7 or contact our toll-free Claims Reporting Center at 866.411.2742. Citizens will resume regular business hours on Tuesday, May 28.

The Property Insurance Clearinghouse is an innovative program that helps Citizens agents find private-market insurance coverage for consumers who believe Citizens is their only insurance option. (Watch a short video of the clearinghouse in action.)

Authorized by the 2013 Florida Legislature, the clearinghouse seeks comparable offers of coverage from participating private-market companies before placing or renewing personal lines coverage with Citizens.

Benefits

Companies participating in the clearinghouse benefit from:

Increased access to Florida insurance consumers through Citizens' network of appointed agents

The ability to develop relationships with Citizens agents through full appointments and limited servicing agreements, which allow agents unable to accept full appointments to write business through the clearinghouse

Agent/Company Partnerships

Agent/company partnerships are vital to the clearinghouse's success. To maximize the benefits of participating in the clearinghouse, participating companies should extend either full appointments or limited servicing agreements (LSAs) to Citizens-appointed agents who they have not already appointed to write business.

LSAs allow agents who cannot accept full appointments, such as those who are members of exclusive agent groups, to pursue and service offers of coverage made through the clearinghouse. Companies should negotiate LSAs directly with exclusive agency groups, then contact agents directly to execute the agreements. These agreements are the responsibility of the insurer and the individual agents.

Commission Rates

As established in Section 627.3518(4)(f) of the clearinghouse statute, agent commissions in the clearinghouse are calculated using Citizens agent commission rates. Companies participating in the clearinghouse must pay agents the greater of Citizens' commission rate or the company's usual and customary commission rate for the line of business being written.

Examples

If Citizens' effective commission rate for a line of business is 9.6 percent and the insurer's usual and customary commission rate for the same line is 7 percent, the insurer must pay the producing agent 9.6 percent.

If Citizens' effective commission rate for a line of business is 8.1 percent and the insurer's usual and customary commission rate for the same line is 10 percent, the insurer must pay the producing agent 10 percent.

Availability

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The clearinghouse currently is available only for the following new and renewal Citizens policy types:

Multiperil and wind-only homeowners (HO-3 and HW-2)

Multiperil and wind-only condominium-unit owners (HO-6 and HW-6)

Dwelling Property 1 and 3 (DP-1 and DP-3).

Excludes DP-1 and DP-3 tenant contents and condominium-unit policies.

Additional policy types will be added over time.

Join

Any Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR)-approved property insurance company may participate in the clearinghouse.